Birdie Tebbetts--1963
One of the best-ever major leaguers
to be born in Vermont, George
Robert Tebbetts actually did the
majority of his growing up in New
Hampshire. A fiery competitor in the
field for seventeen seasons as a
catcher for the Tigers, Red Sox and
Indians; Tebbetts was a soft-spoken
man away from the diamond. Dubbed
by “Birdie” during his toddler days by
an Aunt who compared his voice to a
chirping bird; I can still remember his
distinctive voice.
Following a career in which he
amassed exactly 1,000 hits and four
All-Star Game honors, Tebbetts took
to the dugout to manage eleven
seasons in the majors. He would
guide Cincinnati, Milwaukee and
Cleveland during the 1950s and
early 1960s, finishing with a career
748-705 record.
As the years progressed he would
finish his career as a major league
scout, working for the Yankees and
the Orioles.
I had the good fortune to cross paths
with Tebbetts during his final years in
baseball. An intelligent cuss, the
former Providence University catcher
was ahead of his times in several
ways.
Hired by Dave Dombrowski as a
“Master Scout” (along with Lou
Fitzgerald, Charlie Silvera, Eddie
Bockman and others) during the
infancy of the Florida Marlins to help
with the expansion draft and to guide
young scouts, I remember Birdie
holding court late one night in the
hospitality room during the Marlins
first organizational meetings.
Birdie told the story that as a scout
he would carry an extra suitcase filled
with bits of information on all major
league players. As part of his daily
routine, he would read four or five
newspapers every morning, clipping
out interesting notes on players and
placing them in his own files.
If a pitcher commented in the paper
that he preferred starting over
relieving, Tebbetts stashed away the
tidbit. When a manager was quoted
in the paper that a player handled
the double play better at second
base, than as a shortstop--- Birdie
knew it too.
As young scouts, Tebbetts reminded
us that the information about a player
is sometime just as important as
scouting the tools of the player.
While it may have been a surprise for
many around the game to see the
Marlins win a World Championship
after just five seasons; it was no
surprise to those of us with the club.
Now as I work as a major league
scout, I read my papers daily online
and file notes away into a data base.
It was a little something I was taught
from Birdie Tebbetts--- a wonderful
human being and a man who was
ahead of his time.
(9/17/09)
to be born in Vermont, George
Robert Tebbetts actually did the
majority of his growing up in New
Hampshire. A fiery competitor in the
field for seventeen seasons as a
catcher for the Tigers, Red Sox and
Indians; Tebbetts was a soft-spoken
man away from the diamond. Dubbed
by “Birdie” during his toddler days by
an Aunt who compared his voice to a
chirping bird; I can still remember his
distinctive voice.
Following a career in which he
amassed exactly 1,000 hits and four
All-Star Game honors, Tebbetts took
to the dugout to manage eleven
seasons in the majors. He would
guide Cincinnati, Milwaukee and
Cleveland during the 1950s and
early 1960s, finishing with a career
748-705 record.
As the years progressed he would
finish his career as a major league
scout, working for the Yankees and
the Orioles.
I had the good fortune to cross paths
with Tebbetts during his final years in
baseball. An intelligent cuss, the
former Providence University catcher
was ahead of his times in several
ways.
Hired by Dave Dombrowski as a
“Master Scout” (along with Lou
Fitzgerald, Charlie Silvera, Eddie
Bockman and others) during the
infancy of the Florida Marlins to help
with the expansion draft and to guide
young scouts, I remember Birdie
holding court late one night in the
hospitality room during the Marlins
first organizational meetings.
Birdie told the story that as a scout
he would carry an extra suitcase filled
with bits of information on all major
league players. As part of his daily
routine, he would read four or five
newspapers every morning, clipping
out interesting notes on players and
placing them in his own files.
If a pitcher commented in the paper
that he preferred starting over
relieving, Tebbetts stashed away the
tidbit. When a manager was quoted
in the paper that a player handled
the double play better at second
base, than as a shortstop--- Birdie
knew it too.
As young scouts, Tebbetts reminded
us that the information about a player
is sometime just as important as
scouting the tools of the player.
While it may have been a surprise for
many around the game to see the
Marlins win a World Championship
after just five seasons; it was no
surprise to those of us with the club.
Now as I work as a major league
scout, I read my papers daily online
and file notes away into a data base.
It was a little something I was taught
from Birdie Tebbetts--- a wonderful
human being and a man who was
ahead of his time.
(9/17/09)
